Theory
The total that changed by itself
Meera computes January's grand total in a cell, then copies it and pastes it into her summary sheet. The number changes on arrival: 12,000 becomes 0.
She did nothing wrong with the mouse. She misunderstood what "copy" copied.
Plain paste does not carry the number you see. It carries the formula underneath, and a formula points at cells that do not exist in the new location. Fixing this is what Paste Special was invented for.
Theory
Copying a recipe vs copying the dish
If you photocopy a recipe ("add the two bowls in front of you") and hand it to someone in an empty kitchen, they make nothing, the instruction refers to bowls they do not have. If instead you hand them the finished dish, they get the food. Plain paste copies the recipe (the formula); Paste Values copies the dish (the computed number). Meera wanted the dish.
At a glance
Clipboard actions at a glance
| Action | Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Cut | Ctrl+X | Moves the cell (removes from origin) |
| Copy | Ctrl+C | Duplicates (origin stays) |
| Paste | Ctrl+V | Brings formula + formatting + borders |
| Paste Values | Ctrl+Alt+V | Brings only the computed numbers |
| Format Painter | brush icon | Copies only the look, not the content |
Quiz
Meera copies a cell holding =A2+A3 (showing 500) and pastes it three rows down. The pasted cell shows a different number. Why?
- Paste copied the formula, whose references shifted down to =A5+A6
- Excel randomly changed the value during paste
- Copying always halves the number
- The original cell was corrupted
Show the answer
Paste copied the formula, whose references shifted down to =A5+A6
Plain paste carries the formula, and its cell references are relative: move the formula down three rows and =A2+A3 becomes =A5+A6, now summing different cells. To paste the frozen 500 instead, use Paste Special > Values. Relative references shifting on paste is a guaranteed exam scenario (and the reason for Paste Values).
Think first
Freeze the number
Meera wants the actual number 12,000 to land in her summary and NEVER change again, even if the source sheet is edited. Which single option achieves this, and why does plain Ctrl+V fail?
Show the answer
Paste Special > Values (Ctrl+Alt+V, then V). It pastes the computed 12,000 as a plain number with no formula, so it is disconnected from the source and frozen forever. Plain Ctrl+V fails because it pastes the live formula, which recalculates from whatever cells sit in the new location. Values = the dish, not the recipe.
Theory
Format Painter and the look tools
Once Meera styles one heading (bold, centred, yellow fill), she wants every heading to match. She could redo it all, or:
- Click the styled cell, click Format Painter (the paintbrush), then click the target: the look copies over, content untouched.
- Double-click the paintbrush to keep applying to many cells; press Esc to stop.
The look tools themselves: Font (typeface, size, bold), Fill (cell background colour), Alignment (left/centre/right, top/middle, Wrap Text for long labels, Merge to join cells).
Watch out
Where marks leak
Saying paste copies "the value you see", it copies the formula and formatting; the displayed value is just today's result. Confusing Format Painter (look only) with copy-paste (content + look). And cut vs copy: cut MOVES (origin empties), copy DUPLICATES (origin stays). Merge Cells has a trap too: it keeps only the top-left value and discards the rest, exams ask what happens to the other cells' data (answer: lost).
Theory
The habit that saves reports
Professionals paste-values before sending a spreadsheet outside their team, so the receiver sees stable numbers, not formulas that break on their machine. It is the spreadsheet cousin of "export to PDF". Next lesson makes those numbers actually look like money and percentages, the number-format tools that turn 0.6 into 60% and 12000 into 12,000.
Summary
Key takeaways
- Cut moves; copy duplicates; paste brings the formula, formatting and borders together.
- Plain paste carries formulas, whose relative references shift to the new location.
- Paste Special > Values pastes the frozen computed number (the dish, not the recipe).
- Format Painter clones only the look; double-click to apply repeatedly.
- Font, Fill and Alignment (including Wrap Text and Merge) control appearance.
- Memory hook: copy the recipe (formula) or copy the dish (Paste Values).